The European platform LINA connects relevant institutions with emerging practitioners and thinkers who work at the intersection of architecture and other fields related to spatial culture. It aims to promote up-and-coming talent. LINA’s goal is to steer design and building processes towards regenerative practices and principles of de-growth in line with the values of the European Green Deal. In this conversation with the Head of LINA, we talked about the responsibilities of architecture, the role of cultural institutions in facing the crises of our times and the value of transdisciplinary approaches to expand the sphere of influence of architectural practice.

This interview was developed within the media partnership with LINA, comprising a series of contributions focusing on the 2023 LINA Architecture Programme. LINA launched an open call for the 2024 Fellowship Programme, visit lina.community to discover more.

KOOZ Let’s start from the very beginning. What prompted you to launch the LINA initiative? What does LINA stand for?

MATEVŽ ČELIK LINA stands for learning, interaction and networking in architecture. We are living in critical and defining moments, when we experience the changes in the atmosphere and the concrete consequences that a changing climate brings. And it seems that architecture is still too much business as usual, without the increasingly necessary changes. With few exceptions, this can be seen in everything from the education systems to the economic model of the architectural practice, which is inherently unsustainable and still largely based on traditional client-driven design work. On the other hand, responding to environmental and climatic challenges requires much more research, prototyping and testing of new solutions, even within architectural and urban planning, which have always been the laboratories of the construction industry. Architectural practices today need to adopt this and incorporate it into their regular work. Architectural education will have to respond to this, and the whole system of debate, promotion and awareness-raising in architecture will have to adapt to it.

KOOZ LINA aims to mobilise the architectural sector for regenerative practices by implementing principles of de-growth, supporting the New European Bauhaus and shifting from new construction to adaptive reuse, renovation, and strengthening of initiatives for a more sustainable construction. How does LINA seek to achieve this? How is the yearly programme of events, workshops and conversations structured to support the LINA projects and ensure their reach to local and European communities?

MC At LINA we want to engage and motivate people to present projects, ideas and reflections on how architecture can contribute to addressing the challenges of the environmental and climate crisis. We want to encourage the different actors in the architectural sector to face head on the responsibility of architecture towards the planet, from the very act of building up to the extraction of minerals, the use of energy for construction and the negative impacts that building as a reckless economic activity can have on the life of communities, on the economy itself and on the environment. At LINA we are looking for concrete proposals and projects that show that architecture can work differently and produce more sustainable results in space. These are not necessarily new physical artefacts. The platform is made up of a network of European organisations ranging from education and research, to museums, exhibition centres, publishers and organisers of major European architectural events, biennales, triennials and prizes. Every year we invite emerging professionals from different disciplines related to architecture to apply to work with our Platform on their own projects. A committee of members selects 25 fellows, invites them to an annual kick-off conference and then they join the LINA programme at events where they are invited by the platform members.

KOOZ In an interview with Aric Chen, he mentioned that cultural institutions seem to have gotten stuck on posing questions, raising awareness and issuing (oftentimes vague) calls to action. LINA is an institution in and of itself and also part of a European network of twenty-seven cultural institutions. How do you respond to this assertion?

MC I agree with Aric Chen that cultural organisations are stuck. Today, there is a dynamic and controversial debate on how to renew cultural institutions. I think this is a systemic problem and cultural platforms like LINA offer part of the solution to the question of how to modernise cultural institutions. The framework in which cultural institutions operated and developed a few decades ago was very static compared to today. The model in which they operated did not change until the first decade of the new millennium. Today, the world is dramatically different and changing rapidly. The relationship between institutions and the world has changed and the mission of cultural institutions needs to be constantly reviewed. But in the rapidly changing world it becomes more challenging to understand the context in which cultural institutions operate. the needs to which they must respond to and to update their mission. Insecurity due to risk aversion in a complex political, economic and social context paralyses the functioning of many institutions. This is why today it is essential to have courage, to take risks and to create a new model of cultural institutions. The risk of waiting and doing nothing today is greater than the risk of trying to make a change and failing. But the risk of failure can be reduced by integrating knowledge and practical experience. This is why platforms such as LINA are so important. They can help to understand new missions and functions for cultural institutions and to develop new formats of activities that can reach people and have an impact.

KOOZ Within the LINA network, and with the aim of building future pathways towards a good environment for all, relevant institutions support and promote the work of emerging professionals and thinkers that work at the intersection of architecture and other spatial practices. What prompted you to explore the potential of collaborative approaches and practices through these two scales, from the institution to the individual? How do you define the boundaries of disciplines which engage with spatial culture beyond that of the architect?

MC The need for a broad understanding and treatment of complex problems makes both transdisciplinarity and multidisciplinarity increasingly important in spatial culture and architecture. At the same time, there is a need for disciplinary collaboration and integration of knowledge to address problems in a more holistic way. Demographic change, the climate crisis, resource scarcity, health risks and more are complex challenges that all require just that. It is necessary to understand how spaces work, how they are used, how they affect the environment and society, how they adapt to changing needs and, ultimately, what kind of resource they are for the future. Bringing together ideas, knowledge and approaches from different fields can create solutions that would be difficult for one discipline to develop on its own. Crossing disciplinary boundaries is as crucial for the development of each discipline as it is for the development of architecture and spatial culture. I cannot imagine that spatial culture could develop today without an understanding of economics, anthropology, ecology, sociology and other disciplines. In this regard, I consider the role of institutions to be crucial, as they form the structure and framework within which we organise ourselves as a society to establish rules, manage resources, protect rights and promote progress. But institutions can only be changed by individuals with ideas. For this to happen, linking the different scales is essential.

KOOZ With our series, titled Agent Provocateurs, we will be investigating how a heterogeneous group of practices position themselves in relation to the political and socio-ecological issues faced by our contemporary society. Could you share with us what you identify as the agency of architecture today and how projects as LINA expand architecture’s sphere of influence?

MC The mediation of architecture today certainly goes beyond the traditional role of designing buildings and encompasses a wider range of responsibilities. Architects can shape our physical environment and contribute to a more sustainable, inclusive and equitable built environment in many ways. They can help research how to build more sustainably. They can help create more environmentally conscious design strategies, develop spatial designs that are responsive to different cultural models and evolving societal needs. They can support communities and ensure that their views are included in the planning of their living space. They can use their knowledge to help shape policies, promote more ethical action in spatial development and contribute to a broad debate on the built environment. LINA is about making this whole spectrum of contemporary architects' activities as relevant as traditional design activities. The platform can give a voice to all these diverse actors and it can highlight and showcase their work. We are taking emerging professionals around Europe and we are engaging them in field workshops to solve concrete local problems. That’s how many people have the opportunity to see how architecture can help change their living space for the better. And this is the most important way in which architecture can spread its sphere of influence.

Bio

Matevž Čelik is an architect, researcher and cultural producer who develops new cultural models in architecture and design. He is currently State Secretary at the Slovenian Ministry of Culture. At the Faculty of Architecture, University of Ljubljana, he leads the European architecture platform LINA. Between 2010 and 2020, he was Director of MAO, the Museum of Architecture and Design in Ljubljana, where he founded the first European architecture platform Future Architecture and led it between 2015 and 2021. Čelik is behind the repositioning of BIO Ljubljana, the oldest design biennial in Europe, from a standard design exhibition to a living experiment exploring the potential of design to promote positive change. In 2016, 2018 and 2020, he was Commissioner of the Slovenian Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Federica Zambeletti is the founder and managing director of KoozArch. She is an architect, researcher and digital curator whose interests lie at the intersection between art, architecture and regenerative practices. In 2015 Federica founded KoozArch with the ambition of creating a space where to research, explore and discuss architecture beyond the limits of its built form. Parallel to her work at KoozArch, Federica is Architect at the architecture studio UNA and researcher at the non-profit agency for change UNLESS where she is project manager of the research "Antarctic Resolution". Federica is an Architectural Association School of Architecture in London alumni.